Illuminated number plate, rear lamp, and signal apparatus



ec., n, 1923. www@ R. FpsToRY ILLUMINATED NUMBER PLATE, REAR LAMP, ANDSIGNAL APPARATUS Filed Jan. 1o 1925 INVENTOR;

A TTORNE Y.

RALPH F. STORY, 0F INDIANAPGLIS, INDIANA., .ASSIGNOR OF ONE- f= r 'romaar s.

HORLACHEE, 0F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ILLUMINATED NUMBER PLATE, REAR L, AND SIGNAL APP 2` TUS.

Application led January 10, 1923. Serial No. 611,736. p

To all whom tmay concern.' l

Be it known that I, RALPH F. STORY, -a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful Illuminated Number Plate, Rear Lamp, andSignal Apparatus, of which the followin is a specification, referencebeing had to t e accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figuresof reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to apparatus whereby` a signal or sign may bedisplayed and automatically changed as a result of operation of acontrolling device, the invention havi reference more particularly toapparatus or automobiles whereby a license number may be displayed inboth day time and night time, and whereby a rear light and a signallight may be produced for the benefit of automobile drivers and others.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved illuminated numberplate that shall be especially adapted for use on automobiles or motorvehicles and shall conveniently have a rear danger signal lightconnectedl therewith, which shall be so constructed as to not be costly,and shall be adapted tov be `used in various locations on a vehicle.

Another object is to provide an apparatus which shall be so constructedas to conveniently combine therein an illuminated number plate, a rearsignal lamp, and` arear o lamp to light the road when intending to run amotor vehicle backwards, while affording an intelligent signal to thosevrearward of the vehicle, all to be accomplished by the use of a singleelectric or other lamp.

A further object is to provide apparatus of the above-mentionedcharacter which may be automatically controlled in harmony with` thecontrol of the motor vehicle, in order that a signal shall be reliablycontrolled without depending upon separateor special attention of theoperator of the vehicle, and which shall be simple and reliablestructurally and durable and economical in use.

With the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the inventionconsists in apparatus comprisin a novel structure having dierentsignadevices in a new and advantageous arrangement, and means for theautomaticv control thereof; the invention y consistin further in theparts and combinaafter particularly described and further defined in theclaims appended hereto.

v Referring to the drawing s,-Figure l is a sidey view of the apparatusinvolved in the invention arranged in connection with an automobileindicated-by broken lines, the apparatus bein illustrated as when adated to be operated Sy means ofthe gear-shi ting lever commonly used onautomobiles whereby to control the chan e of s and the direction ofmotion of t e vehicle; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus on anenlarged scale, oontrollin devices thereof being shown in sectionaelevation approximately on t-he line II-II in the ligure following; Fig.3 is a top plan of suitable'controlling devices shown in the precedingiigure; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the casin of thesignal apparatus, on an enlarged sca e; Fig. 5 is a perspective View ofthe principal portions of the invention; and, Fig. 6 is a verticalcentral lon tudinal section of the principal portions o the apparatus,on a further enlarged scale.

Similar reference characters in the various figures of the drawingsindicate corresponding elements or features of the, invention hereinreferredI to in detail.

vIn the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the body of a motor vehicleand 2 the floor thereof, 3 indicating the top of a wellknown type oftransmission gear casing, the transmission gear being shiftable andprovided with a shifting lever 4, as will beunderstood. The speed chaning gears may be variously controlled in iferent motor vehicles, thetype commonlyv used.I requirin the gear shift lever to bemoved in a patcorresponding to the well-known H id, the latter in some cases beinginvisi e to the operator.

A practical embodiment ofthe invention comprises a suitable casing whichmay be variously constructed and as illustrated comprises a bottom 5, atop 6, sides 7 and 8, a rear wall 9 and a front fe 10. Preferably therear wall 9 is considerably smaller in diameter than the front frame,the bottom and the top and' the side walls being di-v vergent from therear wall and are suitably treated on their inner sides to constitutereflecting surfaces. The middle portion of the rear wall is providedwith a suitable lamp rear Wall 9. Electric wirin socket 11 whichsuitably supports an electric lampl 12 adjacent to the inner side of thefor the lamp obviously necessary to con uct current is omitted.

The front frame 10 is rectangular and has a horizontal cent-ral bar 13and two vertical bars 14 and 15 to provide two large openings, one abovethe other and two similarly arranged smaller openings. In the upper oneof the larger openings an opaque license number plate 16 having cut-outnumbers 17 is arranged together with two plates 18 andV 19 on theopposite sides of the number plate, the inner plate 18 being composed offrosted glass so as to aiord a substantially white background for thelicense number in day time and permitting light rays to pass through thecut-out numbers at night time. The outer plate 19 may be clear glass ora sheet of celluloid to protect the number plate Jfrom mud and dust. Theupper one of the smaller spaces has a red glass or lens 20 therein forproducing the required rear signal light when the license number 1silluminated. The lower one of the larger openings or spaces in the frontframe has a clear glass plate 21 therein through which light rays maypass to light the road, and at one end thereof the remaining smalleropening in the front frame has a red glass or lens 22 therein to afforda rear signal light when the vehicle lis running or about to runbackwards.

Suitable provision is made for convenientl changing the license numberplate. usually yearly, one side 'of the casinghaving a vertical slot 23therein through which the numberrplate may be removed and anotherinserted, a suitable protecting door 24 being provided to cover theslot, preferably being connected to the casing by means of a pivot 25and may be provided with a suitable catch 'to hold it in closedposition.

A horizontal adjustable partition 26 is arranged in the casing andprovided with a hinge shaft 27 that has journals 28 and 29 rotatablysupported in the sides of the cas'- ing behind the middle bar 13 of thefront frame, suitable journal bearings 30 being preferably provided forthe journals on the inner side of the casing, the partition extending asuitable distance rearwardly and being pivotally movable up or down tode fiect the light rays from the lamp 12 as may be desired. One of thejournals has an operating arm 31 xed thereon .to which a pull-rod-orcable 32 is connected for swinging the partition upward, the partitiondescending by the force of gravity to Contact with the bottom 5 of thecasing. Preferably the pull-rod is spring-retracted, an arm 33 beinlixed to one of the journals of the partltion and havin a coil spring 34connected thereto that is suitably connected to aravaca the casing, thustending to promptly lower the defiecting partition when the pull-rod isreleased. The pull-rod may be moved more or less as may be desired, soas to swing the partition 26`up to the top 6 of the casing to theoppositely inclined position 35, or to a mid-position 36. Preferably acoil spring 37 is connected to the pull-rod and has a cable 38 connectedthereto to prevent straining of the connections when violently operatedor inaccurately connected with an operating device.

A suitable stand 39 is secured upon the floor 2 of the motor vehicle andhas a top plate 40, the plate shown being in the form of the H gridrather to illustrate the path of movement of the shifting lever 4, thetop plate having a slot 41 therein into which the shifting lever ismoved when setting the transmission gears for reversing or backwardmovement of the motor vehicle. A suitable guide 42 is arranged at theslot and guides a movable cross-head or lug device 43 to be engaged bythe shifting leverwhen it is moved into the slot, and the cable 38 isconnected to the cross-head so as to be operated thereby and is suitablyguided, preferably by means o'f a o'uide sheave 44 arranged on the standand a s eave 45 arranged under the floor 2.

lt should be understood that the signal casing may be arranged in anydesirable position and supported as may be desired; that the device foroperating the partition 26 may be variously constructed and arranged;that the casing may have different shapes on different vehicles as maybe preferred; that the front frame of the casing (which is rearward onthe vehicle) may be variously designed as to contour and mechanicaldetails; and that the springs 34 and 37 may in some cases be omitted ormay be located in various positions.

In ractical use, the motor vehicle gear shift ever 4 may be operated asusual for forward motion control, and maybe set in neutral position,without interfering with the signal apparatus, the partition 26 normallyremaining in connection with the bottom 5 of the casing and preventingrays of light from passing through the transparent plate or panel 21.`In day time the license number and name that may be associatedtherewith plainly appears as White on a black or dark background'. IInthe nigh time electric current having been turned or switched to thelamp 12, thenumber plate becomes illuminated and the' lens 20 causes ared light to appear7 no light being seen through the plates 21 and 22.When the motor vehicle has been stopped and it is to be run backward theshifting lever 4 is moved so as to properly shift the transmission gearsfor reverse movement, the lever being moved forward in the present case;and as the lever is moved forward it engages the crosshead orlug device43 and moves it forward which causes the operation of the controllingconnections, the latter causing the partition or shutter 26 to bemovedpivotally into contact with the top 6 of the casing, in whichposition the light from the lamp is shut olf from the number platel andthe signal plate 20, the partition detlecting the light downward throughthe transparent plate 21 and the vred light plate 22, the light beingreflected by the walls of the casing and resulting in a strong lightbeing projected downwardly and laterally on the road to enable theoperator to properly steer the vehicle, such light being also a signaltoV those in the rear of the vehicle.

In some cases it may be desired that the number plate be illuminatedvwhen running the vehicle backwards, -in which case the controllingdevice will be suitably designed or adjusted to cause the partition 26to be swung upward to the horizontal position 36 instead of the position35, thereby permitting rays from the lamp 12 to pass both below andabove the partition. When the shifting lever 4 is returned from reverseposition the operating and controlling connections of the signalapparatus are automatically retracted and the partition 26 returned tonormal position in contact with the bottom 5 of the casing.

What I claim as new is:-

l, Illuminated number plate and signal apparatus including a .casinghaving a transparent number and a light-opening below the number at oneend of the casing, a lam in the casing at the opposite end thereo andmeans for periodically closing the lightopening to rays of-light fromthe lamp.

2. Illuminated number plate and signal apparatus including a casing, asingle lamp in the casing at one end thereof, a transparent number platein the upper portion and a light-opening in the lower portion of theopposite end of the casing, and a defiecting partition pivoted in thecasing to periodically close the light-opening in the lower portion ofthe casing.

3. Illuminated number plate and signal apparatus including a casinghaving a partition therein -pivoted horizontally at one end thereof toswing upward or downward, a lamp in the casing at the opposite endthereof, a number plateiwith transparent numerals supported in thecasing above the plane of the pivoted portion of the partition, asigna-liens supported by the casing below the partition, and means tocontrol the partition.

4. Illuminated number plate and signal apparatus including a casinghaving a number plate in the upper portion of one end thereof and atransparent plate the lower` portion of the end below the number plate,a lamp in the casing at the opposite end thereof, a partition pivotedhorizontally in the casing adjacent to the bottom of the number plateand`the top of the transparent plate, and means to control thepartition.

5. Illuminated number` plate and signal apparatus for a motor vehiclehaving a gear shift lever including a casing having a transparent numberand a light-opening at one end thereof, a lamp in the casing at theopposite end thereof, a partition pivoted in the casing on a horizontalplanebetween thenumber and the light-opening to normally close thelatter and deflect rays from the lamp to the transparent number, and

means connected with the gear shift lever of the vehicle forautomatically operating ,A

said partition.

6. Illuminated number plate and signal apparatus including a' casinghaving a transparent number and a light-opening below the number, thecasing having also a signal lens at one end of the number 'and a signallens at one end of the light-opening, a lamp in the casing to projectlight rays .to the transparent number and the signal lens at the endthereof and to the light-opening and the signal lens at the end thereof,

and means for periodically intercepting the light rays between the lampand the lightopening and the lens at the end'thereof.

7. Illuminated number plate and signal apparatus comprising a casinghaving a front frame on one end thereof, the frame having a transparentnumber and a signal lens in the upper portion thereof and a transparentplate and a. signal lens in theu lower portion thereof, a lamp in thecasing at the opposite end thereof, a partition lpivoted in the casingon a horizontal plane b etween the bottom of the number and the top ofthe transparent plate and provided with an operating-arm, the partitionbeing pivotally movable between the lamp and the transparent plate andthe lens at the end thereof, or between the lamp and the transparentnumber and the lens at the end thereof, and means for controlling theoperating-arm.

8. In an illuminated number plate, rear lamp and signal apparatus formotor-vehicles, the combination with a vehicle body, and a movablegear-shift lever carried by the body, of a casing mounted on the vehiclebody and provided at the upper portion of one end thereof with atransparent number plate and also a signal lens and at the lower portionof said end with a transparent plate and also a signal lens, the ca's-ving having a door to receive the number plate, a lamp in the casing atthe opposite tion of the number plate and the upper one of the lenses toswing past the lamp, one of the pivots ofthe partition having a down-Ward-extending arm and an upward ex- 5 tending arm fixed thereon outsidethe casing,

a pull-rod connected to said downward-extending arm, a control devicemovably sup# i ported to be engaged and moved by said germen gear-shiftlever and having connection with the pull-rod, and a retrating-springcon- 10 nected to said upward-extending arm and to the casing.

RALPH F. STORY.

